Portugal plays to the rhythm of the Atlantic, from the umbrella pines of the Algarve to the dunes of the north. The Algarve is its heart: Vilamoura, Quinta do Lago and Vale do Lobo line up courses beneath umbrella pines, between the Ria Formosa lagoon and ochre cliffs, while Lagos and Tavira set a gentler pace at the western and eastern ends of the coast. Lisbon pairs morning golf with evenings in the historic city; close by, Cascais plays between dunes and pines facing the ocean, and Ericeira offers a seaside base for the courses inland. Further north, Óbidos gathers links and other courses around its lagoon, Porto has Oporto Golf Club, the oldest club on the Iberian Peninsula, the Azores offer volcanic golf in mid-ocean, and Madeira has mountain courses high above Funchal.
The Algarve can be played all year round, at its best from October to May, with mild winters; in summer it is a game for early mornings. Around Lisbon and in Óbidos, spring and autumn are the best seasons, while Porto and the Azores are better from May to September, the driest months. We arrange tailor-made trips there: reserved tee times, private transfers, carefully chosen hotels and tables where the catch of the day is decided at the market.
On São Miguel, the largest island in the Azores, two courses are enough for a trip: the 27 holes of Batalha, on the north coast fifteen minutes from Ponta Delgada, and Furnas, the archipelago's oldest course, opened in 1936 on a plateau lined with Japanese cedars. Golfers come to play in an intensely green volcanic landscape, among crater lakes and hot springs, preferably from May to October, when the weather is driest.
Cascais, a seaside town some thirty kilometres west of Lisbon, has four courses within about twenty minutes: Oitavos Dunes, Arthur Hills' layout among dunes and pines, Robert Trent Jones Sr.'s Quinta da Marinha, the venerable Golf do Estoril and Penha Longa in the foothills of Sintra. Golfers come for ocean golf in a mild climate all year round, ideally from March to June and from September to November.
Comporta, on the Alentejo coast about 1 hr 20 min from Lisbon airport, has two eighteen-hole courses at Terras da Comporta: David McLay Kidd's Dunas, ranked number one in Portugal by Top100GolfCourses in 2026, and the Torre, Sergio García's first design. Golfers come for sand-based golf among umbrella pines and dunes, fishermen's huts turned into rare places to stay, and cooking built on rice and fish. The best months are April to June, then September and October; February is also a good time to play.
Ericeira is a former fishing village on the Atlantic coast, 35 kilometres north-west of Lisbon, designated a World Surfing Reserve in 2011. It has no golf of its own: three 18-hole courses lie 35 to 40 minutes' drive away, CampoReal (Donald Steel) in the hills of Torres Vedras, Belas Clube de Campo facing the Sintra hills and Penha Longa's Atlantic Course (Robert Trent Jones Jr.). Golfers come to sleep by the ocean and play inland, ideally from March to October.
Lagos, a historic port in the western Algarve, has four courses within twenty minutes of its old town: the 27 holes of Palmares, redesigned by Robert Trent Jones Jr. above the bay, Boavista, Espiche and Penina, the region's first championship course, designed by Henry Cotton. Golfers come to play facing the Atlantic and dine in a town on a human scale, ideally from February to May and from September to November.
Lisbon lets you stay in the heart of the Portuguese capital and play no more than half an hour's drive away: Belas Clube de Campo, Rocky Roquemore's layout facing the Serra de Sintra; the Lisbon Sports Club, a valley course by Hawtree & Sons; and PGA Aroeira Nº1, designed by Frank Pennink in a pine forest on the south bank. Golfers come to pair morning rounds with an historic city in the evening, ideally from March to June and from September to November.
Madeira, a Portuguese island in the Atlantic about four hours' flight from Paris, offers two mountain courses above Funchal: Robert Trent Jones Sr.'s twenty-seven holes at Santo da Serra, long a European Tour venue, and Palheiro Golf, on a botanical estate. Severiano Ballesteros's course on neighbouring Porto Santo rounds off the trip. The draw is the ocean views, the quintas of the Madeira wine families and mild weather all year; the best months are March to June, then September.
Óbidos, a walled village on Portugal's Silver Coast an hour north of Lisbon, is the base for four 18-hole courses between ten and twenty minutes' drive away: West Cliffs, Cynthia Dye's links opened in 2017 in the dunes, Praia D'El Rey, Cabell B. Robinson's layout between pines and ocean, Royal Óbidos, designed by Seve Ballesteros, and Bom Sucesso, beside the lagoon. Golfers come for seaside golf and evenings in medieval lanes, ideally in spring and autumn.
Porto, in northern Portugal, has two links courses less than forty minutes from the centre: Oporto Golf Club at Espinho, founded in 1890 by British port merchants and the oldest club in the Iberian Peninsula, and Estela, laid out by Duarte Sottomayor across three kilometres of dunes north of the city. Golfers come for the seaside golf, the UNESCO-listed old town and the port lodges of Vila Nova de Gaia, ideally between April and September.
Quinta do Lago is a residential estate in the Algarve, on the edge of the Ria Formosa natural park, some twenty minutes from Faro airport. It has four 18-hole courses open to visitors by reservation: the South Course, host of eight Portuguese Opens, the North Course, the Laranjal and San Lorenzo. The best months run from February to May and from October to November.
Tavira, a small whitewashed town in the eastern Algarve, is the base for four 18-hole courses between ten and thirty minutes' drive away: Benamor, designed by Henry Cotton, Rocky Roquemore's two layouts at Quinta da Ria on the edge of the Ria Formosa, and Monte Rei, a Jack Nicklaus design. Golfers come for uncrowded courses and a town best explored on foot, ideally from February to May and in October and November.
Vale do Lobo is a golf and villa estate on the Atlantic shore of the Algarve, twenty minutes from Faro airport. It offers two 18-hole courses that start among umbrella pines and finish facing the beach: the Royal, famous for its 16th, a par 3 played over a ravine along the clifftops, and the Ocean, which grew out of Sir Henry Cotton's layouts. The best periods run from February to June and from September to November.
Vilamoura, an Algarve resort next to Quarteira, brings together four 18-hole courses open to visitors within a 3 km radius: the Old Course, laid out by Frank Pennink in 1969 beneath the umbrella pines, Pinhal, Laguna and Millennium, grouped under the Vilamoura Golf brand. Golfers come to play course after course without long drives, 25 minutes from Faro airport, ideally from October to May.
